Fatum
by adorkabletwenty7
Summary: A series of oneshots following the lives, and the love story, of Jacob and Marlena after Benzini's. Based off of the Water for Elephants movie, may include spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! I promise to make this author's note short, I just want to say I read Water for Elephants when I was 12 or 13 (I'm 16 now) and I was no where near mature enough to handle this book. I've recently watched the movie and was blown away by the depth of these characters and power of this story. I hope I can do this story justice. _

Marlena awoke in the middle of the night, reaching out to find the other side of the "bed" empty. A hay stack covered in a ratty blanket however, can hardly be considered a bed. Still, with the warmth of a sleeping Queenie tucked into Marlena's torso along with the extra jackets and clothes Jacob had placed upon her while she was sleeping kept the young showgirl warm.

Jacob.

Just thinking about him made her smile. He was the first person to truly care for her in God knows how long. She had fallen asleep in his arms the previous night as they whispered their dreams to each other. Every few minutes or so, Marlena would insist her lover grab another jacket, anything to keep him warm on chilly night. The only items of clothing the young man wore were a thin, dirty shirt and work pants. The exact outfit he had walked away from the Benzini tent in three days prior. Every time she would suggest a change of clothing, Jacob would chuckle,

"I think I'll survive Marlena, you need these much more then I do."

Then he would place a kiss upon her shoulder and continue whatever thought he was previously sharing.

So selfless, so caring, Marlena could not fathom how she had been so lucky to find him, or rather, have him find her. It was truly destiny.

Marlena rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, searching for the man on her mind. He was no where to be found in the barn the two found sojourn in for the night. The pair had come across the abandoned barn during the extensive walk to Cornell. Due to the friends the two had brought along on their journey, a hotel was not an option. Neither took mind to the conditions, more then content with each others presence after the struggle they had to overcome in order to be together peacefully.

Marlena rose to wipe the excess hay off of her clothing, she then wrapped her robe tighter around her fragile body and walked out of the barn into the chilly night; what she saw made her heart melt. Jacob, quietly whispering sweet Polish phrases to the creature which had saved their lives, Rosie. The gigantic mammal was lying down but it's lengthy tail swished attentively. Jacob stroked the elephant's trunk in a soothing manner in an attempt to lure the giant back to sleep. Marlena leaned against the doorframe of the barn, crossing her arms to just watch. It was a beautiful sight, so outrageous yet so natural.

No more then a minute later the elephant caught sight of the beautiful woman and made a delighted sound which can only be described as an elephant 'hello'. Jacob turned around with a smile, attempts at getting Rosie to sleep long forgotten. He rose from his position, kneeling near the elephants head, playfully swatting at the animal. He then walked over to Marlena, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, did we wake you?"

"No, no of course not, what's the matter?"

"Some other animal must have woken ol Rosie up; I'm just trying to make sure she gets some rest for tomorrow's walk. But now that you're here she's way too excited, isn't that right Rose?"

The elephant made yet another joyous noise as the showgirl approached her, climbing on the animals back with some help from Jacob. Marlena then laid down on the beast, running her hands up and down it's rough skin. Rosie stood up and began walking in circles, almost as if to rock her master to sleep. If one can call Marlena, Rosie's master. The two, along with Jacob had a delicate, beautiful, friendship, and at the end of the day, both humans knew who the boss was. Yet, Marlena and Jacob had treated Rosie with nothing but tender love, which the elephant was more then happy to reciprocate.

Jacob watched with a smile as the girl of his dreams giggled atop the giant animal. It was almost surreal to see her laugh, the pain August and his henchman had thrust upon them, still haunted the two. The moon illuminated the black and blue bruise still evident below Marlena's left eye reminding Jacob that they weren't out of the clearing just yet. As he thought, his smile faded. He had promised her so much, he needed to see her live the life she deserves, and he was going to do everything in his power to make her dream life a reality.

Jacob was not an angry man; he had never been violent before, he had no reason to be, yet thinking of the horrible things August had done to Marlena made Jacob's blood boil.

Marlena, looking down at her lover, could sense the change of mood as he looked down at his feet, she gently asked Rosie to let her down, sliding off of the elephants back and joining Jacob once again.

"Hey, what's wrong? Look at me. Jacob, look at me." She softly requested as she took the handsome man's face into her hands.

"What's the matter?" She whispered once more. Jacob responded by gently- always gently-outlining the remaining bruise under his paramour's eye. She leaned into his touch, understanding what was going through his mind.

"I should have protected you. You don't deserve this." She shook her head furiously

"Don't you dare say that, you know it's not your fault."

"That doesn't fix anything Marlena." She attempted a smile and leaned up to kiss him.

"We're free now, and we're together, that's all that matters." The two embraced and quiet overtook them. Jacob was the one to break the silence.

"You know I love you, right? You know I'm going to try my hardest to protect you, to be there for you?" Marlena could only manage a short reply, tears gathering in her eyes at his confession. It was nothing she didn't know already, yet it still got to her.

"Of course."

With that the two returned to their barn, lay down together on the hay stack and fell into a peaceful slumber.

_So that's the first chapter! Sorry for the short length. I'm going to be honest, I'm probably only going to update once or twice more following up on Jacob and Marlena's life together. I'm going to watch the movie again next week and I hope that will inspire me to crank out another chapter. I had no beta for this chapter so all grammatical mistakes are min., Reviews really keep me going. Thanks guys, Happy Easter!_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello all. This update is long overdue and isn't even complete, however I feel so bad for not updating like promised and I'm leaving for a missons trip to Mexico on Saturday (while working at a camp Monday-Friday) so I know I won't be able to update for awhile. So here it is, part one of 'The Date' chapter. I hope you enjoy, your feedback has been tremendous and I'm forever grateful. I apologize for the length, I assure you the date in the next chapter won't disappoint.

He had promised her a better life, so today Jacob was doing something special. Something the average person usually takes for granted. Something that Marlena had never truly experienced. A date: Jacob was taking Marlena on a date.

After their walk to Ithaca, Jacob and Marlena had found, what they assumed, was an abandoned house and farm on the outskirts of town. The house was still in good condition and the acres of land were still well plenished, much to Rosie's liking, yet there were no inhabitants on the land. So the two lovers, along with their animal friends decided to live in the country-style house until they could either afford their own or the rightful owner reclaimed the property. The latter happened first.

Both Marlena and Jacob had found work in town, Marlena as a tailor's assistant and Jacob as a grocery store cashier. Both humble jobs having nothing to do with their extraordinary talents, however the jobs supplied an income and until Jacob received his degree from Cornell (after passing his final exam with flying colors) Jacob and Marlena were happy to do whatever they could to reach their ultimate goal, Ringley's. The tailor and grocery store were located within a block of each other and Marlena's shift always ended a few minutes before Jacob's. She would sit on the windowsill of the store in her beige dress covered by a white apron, watching the love of her life check out his last few customers. Today his last customer was an elderly woman, small and frail, buying a few eggs and miscellaneous items. Jacob greeted her with a smile, as he did all his customers, rang up her items while making small talk and then placed the items in a brown paper bag. The woman thanked him and reached for the bag when he stopped her. From Marlena's perspective she could see Jacob hold a finger up to the woman, then jog off to his boss most likely telling him he was leaving, the boss placed his hand on Jacob's shoulder in a friendly manner and nodded. Jacob then returned to the elderly woman, grabbed her grocery bags in one hand and escorted her out of the store.

As he opened the door and the bell at the top rang, Jacob caught sight of Marlena. A wide grin appeared on his face, he couldn't help it, he then turned his attention to the woman and said,

"Mrs. Caldwell, I'll like to introduce you to my friend, Marlena." Marlena shook the woman's hand politely.

"Friend my behind!" The woman exclaimed, "I saw that look you two shared, you two are in love ain't you?" A blush appeared on Marlena's face along with a smile, she liked this woman. Jacob scratched the back of his neck as a laugh escaped him,

"Well you've got that right Mrs. Caldwell, you're a very bright woman. Marlena, I was just helping Mrs. Caldwell with her things, she lives up the street."

"Well that's fantastic." Marlena replied with a smile while hooking her left arm with the elderly woman's right.

"You have a very sweet boy Marlena, reminds me of my Harry. I told him I could walk myself but he insisted." Marlena nodded, keeping her eyes on Jacob,

"You're right , he has a very big heart."

The couple then walked the elderly woman home, both embracing her in a hug when they left. The pair then walked hand in hand to their home on the outskirts of town. What they found shocked them.

They found Rosie playfully tapping a mysterious man on the head with her trunk. The man appeared hesitant but enthralled, elephants are not exactly common in New York.

"Excuse me. Excuse me!" Jacob called, dropping Marlena's hand while approaching the man. The stranger then turned to face Jacob, his eyes wide.

"Jankowski? Is that you?"

"Brzoza?" Jacob replied, astonished.

"Jacob is that you? I can't believe it!" The two men embraced while speaking in rapid Polish.

Adam Brzoza was the man's name. Jacob's father had helped Adam's family through the depression. Both families were from the same area in Poland and had become fast friends. The Brzoza family moved into the city when Adam's father found a new job and Jacob had not heard from him since. That new job proved to be very prosperous and the Brzoza's were now incredibly wealthy. Adam and his wife owned the house Jacob and Marlena had been sleeping in and Adam assured them they could stay for however long they wished.

So here they were, stable home, steady jobs and a dream they were close to reaching. Perfect time for a date. Jacob had been flabbergasted when Marlena had mentioned her lack of experience with courtship. One night as they laid together, tangled in the sheets, Marlena had mumbled,

"One day, I hope we can go on a date. I've always wanted to go on one" The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. August had lured her in at a relatively young age, she never had an opportunity to be courted. August knew she was hers so he had no need to woo Marlena. Sure the two had been to dinners and parties but Marlena had never truly enjoyed them, or when she would begin to enjoy them August would be stone drunk and she would have to drag him home and tuck him in.

This is how, on a warm Friday night, Marlena and Jacob ended up in Central Park.


End file.
